In researching this work
I have discovered some pages on the internet that you may find
interesting.
Recent checking suggest that several of these links no longer exist;
please be patient I will update in due course.
Some good stuff
there
but please don't use gathering notes; they are really old hat.
Hector's reasoning behind gathering notes (drivers' reaction
time when making an emergency stop) do not add up! Singers
expect to start singing on time; they just need more clues from
you how to do it! You wouldn't hear a gathering note in an opera
chorus or Land of Hope and Glory so please don't do it with hymns!
Great
advice for those who find themselves unwittingly in demand THIS
Sunday with little or no warning!
Caveat
Be careful regarding what you may find
on the internet particularly YouTube; there are some contributors there
who have uploaded enthusiastic playing of hymns yet their playing
renders the hymn virtually unsingable - usually for the following
reasons:
Over-legato playing so the rhythm is
lost,
Shortening rests and long held notes
to less (sometimes far less) than their written value,
Very long pauses at the end of
verses,
Undefined silent breaks between
verses,
Simply getting the music wrong,
Playing far too loud throughout.
Look at these videos and listen
carefully and imagine that you are trying to sing the hymn concerned.
